Newsletter #41 November 2019
Welcome to our forty first newsletter – designed to keep you informed about our activities, as well as other chamber music events.
2019/20 COFFEE CONCERT SEASON CONTINUES
The first concert of this season was given by the Mithras Trio. Our reviewer praised them for just about everything, from the delicacy of their phrasing to their full-bloodied commitment to the music. The review can be found on https://stringsattachedmusic.org.uk under ‘Reviews’.
The next concert will be on 17 November at 11 am at the Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts, University of Sussex, Falmer, given by Endymion.
- Beethoven Sonata No. 10 for piano and violin in G major, Op. 96
- Beethoven Horn Sonata in F major, Op. 17
- Brahms Horn Trio in E flat major Op. 40
Although billed as the Endymion Horn Trio they are really just Endymion, being a group of musicians who first came together in 1979 when playing in the National Youth Orchestra. They include horn, clarinet, oboe, strings and piano. Since then they have established independent reputations for themselves but they come together to play chamber music when they can, in whatever combination suits that engagement.
Endymion, of course, was the beautiful boy of Greek myth, who was put to eternal sleep by Zeus to make him ever available to Selene, Goddess of the Moon, who had fallen in love with him. Quite how Selene thought that would work isn’t clear but she visited him every night and managed to have 50 daughters by him without ever waking him up. Keats liked the myth so much he wrote his great long poem, Endymion, which begins “A thing of beauty is a joy for ever”. Which bit of all this was in the mind of those teenage musicians in 1979 when they chose their name we can only guess.
For those who like to prepare for a concert, programme notes are available on https://www.stringsattachedmusic.org.uk .
We look forward to seeing you there.
PRACTICALITIES
The Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts (ACCA), formerly the Gardner Centre, is at the University of Sussex at Falmer. We are still using ACCA while the refurbishment of the Brighton Dome Corn Exchange enters its final stages.
There is free parking at the Sports Centre, near the Attenborough Centre, and at other car parks on the campus nearby (it being Sunday). There are also excellent public transport links:
- by train from Brighton or Lewes; or
- by bus: No. 25 from Hove and Brighton, No. 23 from Brighton Marina or No.s 28 and 29 from Brighton or, coming the other way, from Tunbridge Wells via Uckfield and Lewes.
Help with transport
A happy tradition is established whereby Strings Attached members offer lifts to others who would otherwise have difficulty with transport. If a lift has not already been arranged for you and you would like a lift, or if you would like to offer one, please email the secretary Margaret Polmear on m.polmear@btinternet.com . It will only be possible to find a lift for you if there happens to be someone in your area who is offering one.
Ticket prices for the coffee concerts have again been held at £18.50 (concessions £16). It is now too late to buy a season ticket for all six concerts. A half-season ticket for the three in 2020 is £49.50 (concessions £42).
Tickets for all concerts are available from the Brighton Dome box office (01273 709709) or https://brightondome.org or from The Attenborough Centre on the day. Tickets for those aged 8 – 25 are free as part of the Cavatina Scheme. They can only be booked by visiting the box office in person. The Brighton Dome box office can issue these free tickets in advance; the ACCA box office will be open on the morning of the concert. Either the young person should be present at the time of booking, or the person booking for him or her must show proof of age, e.g. a passport. Under 14s must be accompanied to the concert by a paying adult.
MEMBERSHIP
For those who haven’t already done so, there is still time to renew your membership of Strings Attached for the period 1 August 2019 to 31 July 2020. Membership renewal forms can be downloaded from https://www.stringsattachedmusic.org.uk/friends/ .Payment can be made by bank transfer or by cheque but the form still needs to be sent by post. For Gift Aid reasons please complete one form per person. Paid-up members will receive a membership card which can be used to obtain a glass of sherry or fruit juice during coffee concert intervals.
We hope you will choose to renew your membership and support our work – and encourage like-minded people to join us too.
OTHER CHAMBER MUSIC EVENTS
There’s an interesting concert on 15 November (that’s the Friday before the next coffee concert) at 7.30pm at St Luke’s Church, Queen’s Park Road, Brighton BN2 9ZB. Ivana Peranic and Rachel Fryer will play works for cello and piano, mainly by New Music Brighton composers, including Strings Attached committee member Guy Richardson. Tickets on the door.
The next concert at the Nicholas Yonge Society in Lewes will be on 29 November, given by the Fitzwilliam String Quartet with Nancy Cooley (piano). They will play Purcell, Delius, Julian Broughton, Elgar and Vaughan Williams. An all-British chamber concert doesn’t happen all that often! Tickets are available on http://www.nyslewes.org.uk or on the door.
The next concert of the Seaford Music Society will be given on 24 November by the Capriccio Ensemble: quintets by Mozart and Brahms and film music by Seaford’s own Kenneth V. Jones. Thrilling!
Details of concerts in local churches (including the relatively new venues of St Mary’s Kemptown and St Mary de Haura in Shoreham) and those organised by other local music societies can be accessed via the Strings Attached chamber music calendar. For those not familiar with the concerts at Champs Hill, near Pulborough, the organisers specialise in concerts by talented young musicians in the early stages of their careers. Go to https://www.stringsattachedmusic.org.uk and choose “Calendar” from the menu.
Finally, Brighton Early Music Festival continues until 10 November. It’s a tremendous line-up.
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